Winds Tale EAA Chapter 187 E-Newsletter May, 2014 Dan Badwey Editor

Our president’s monthly message

Hello Chapter Members and Friends.

Thank you for the great work on the “Aluminum Overcast” B-17 Tour at the San

Marcos Municipal Airport as part of the very first stop of AOPA Fly-In series,

2014.

It was incredible to see so many volunteers and friends come out to work together

in a big event like this. Some volunteers just stayed in and came back again and

again unscheduled.

Special thanks to Larry Bowls and Gerald Champaign as Directors and Dan and Karen Weyant as Marketing

Chairman for the long long hours and hoofing around they spent to realize this event. We haven’t heard

from EAA concerning how much we actually made for the Chapter 187. On Saturday, HQ sent me a mail

saying that they heard nothing but awesome things about Chapter 187. On Saturday, April 26, EAA

Chairman Jack Pelton brought a couple of vice presidents and a couple of staff from Oshkosh to help us out

in the booth with all sorts of nifty furniture and fancier banners. They were very happy to see so many

members actively involved in this B-17 Tour. Long distance commute and very hot weather didn’t dampen

our spirit even a bit!

Also this month , our own Jimmy Cox invited us to participate in Austin Mini Makers Faire where he ex-

hibited his Pulsar. Makers Faire that celebrates do-it yourself spirit was held on Saturday, May 3 at the

Expo Center. Jimmy Cox, Anthony Plattsmier , FiDot Formichev, Chris Logue and Ewell Matherne set up

their exhibits and EAA Chapter 187 table with EAA brochures and magazines, Chapter 187 newsletter, hard

copies and Young Eagles sign up to which 17 youth s responded. Anthony grabbed this opportunity for

Chapter fundraising by selling balsa-wood airplanes that the Chapter purchased . We can use this tool at

various events we have throughout this year. Great work! Jimmy is our Chapter Marketing Chairman and

there will be more to come.

Positive experiences like these events create more energy among us. Wouldn’t you rather be a part of the

solution? Please pitch in and feel the energy! Volunteer for the snacks for the monthly meetings and

“Hangar Hop” destinations and participate in the Chapter fly-ins, outings and Young Eagles events, etc.

We still need more people in our committees, like Fundraising, Public Relations, BBQ Committee, Social

Chairman and occasional Special Events Chairman. Plenty of opportunities are there if you decide to be

involved. Not everything for everybody , but just see if anything rings a bell for you.

The new Japanese Aviation Word for this month is “Pailotto” meaning pilot and pronounced “Pielotto.

Have a wonderful month with the Spirit of Aviation!!

Haruko Reese

EAA Chapter 187 President

The AOPA Fly-In

This San Marcos event was the first of a series of nation-wide fly-ins scheduled by the AOPA. As is the

case with any successful fly-in, there needs to be a good reason for attending. “Aluminum Overcast ,” EAA’s

B-17 Flying Fortress, was a powerful magnet. More than 300 pilots flew in and attendance over the 3-day

event was about 2500 according to the AOPA. Although we did not host the B-17, we were asked by head-

quarters to carry out all the duties we’ve performed in the past when the famous bomber came to George-

town . Included were security, helping ground tour buyers in and out of the bomber and selling EAA merchan-

dise and ground tours.

Due to a low ceiling on the first day of the event, the B-17 flew little if at all. The situation changed on day

two because the weather cleared before noon . As a result, the crowds and interest in the bomber, as evidenced

by the photo, lower left, increased greatly.

In addition to our participation in duties associated with the B-17 and merchandise sales, we manned a

booth where questions regarding EAA and our Chapter were answered and free-for-the taking literature was

displayed. Headquarters suggested that copies of Tale Winds be included . They were, and it is to be hoped

that readers might be interested in joining the Chapter.

Attendees constantly gathered around the Fortress. Some took ground tours, others bought rides.

Kudos for Haruko! Her hard work in connec-tion with our duties resulted in smooth support operations and earned high praise from the AOPA and EAA headquarters. For example, she received a letter from Oshkosh saying that they had heard only awesome things abut our chapter’s work at the fly-in. Chapter member Larry Bowles was co-director and took care of the volunteers. Haruko and Larry worked closely together. l

Back to the B-17 on the next page.

X

This photo, taken from the control tower, shows the western expanse of the airport apron. It’s about 4000

feet long and constitutes less than half the apron. . The red X marks the location of our booth. In the fore-

ground about 35 aircraft not usually seen at fly-ins are on display . Since they are randomly parked it’s obvious

that they are there for more than a day. Many have been flown in from their factories. The location of the

various makes and models is in front of the main entrance, so a significant number of show attendees browse

the area and some might become interested in owning a particular airplane. Three examples are shown below.

.

X

Here’s a view of the eastern part of the apron.

Shown parked nose-to-tail are aircraft commonly

seen at fly-ins. It looks as though there’s a prob-

lem with the plane in the lower left part of the

scene.

Many attendees experienced his-

tory on Saturday in the Boeing B-17 .

Here are a few specifications;

Typical weight, 40,000 lbs.

Four 1200 HP Wright engines.

Cruising speed 165 mph.

Wing span, 103 feet, 9 inches.

Fuel capacity, 1700 gals.

Fuel type, 100LL.

Minimum runway, 5000 ‘x 100 ‘

Why it’s called the Flying Fortress

Waist gun Top turret guns Tail guns

Nose guns Belly guns

A trailer from which EAA merchandise is sold always accompanies the B-17 and a key role we play is manning the trailer. Brad and Ellicia Bellamy worked on Saturday, left. Pete Christensen and Jeremiah O’fihelly worked on Sunday. (Yours truly and Luke Skiles worked on Friday.)

Rick Fernall (left) and Scott Hartwig.

This 1963 Beechcraft Debonair has been restored to like-new con-dition by AOPA. It will be awarded this year to a lucky subscriber of the organization’s magazine.

Central Texas Air Show, Temple This three day event which draws huge crowds originated at GTU. Future shows there were denied by

city officials after a Stearman pilot, taking off on runway 18, fell behind the power curve. He drifted off

to the left and “landed, ” uninjured , in a tree behind a house in a subdivision west of the airport.

Beth Jenkins, owner of Pilots Choice Aviation was Air Boss of the show and handily moved it to Tem-

ple the year following the accident. To this day, she is still Air Boss and has built Central Texas Air Show

into one of the premier events in Texas.

Precision formation flying,, aerobatic routines and CAF war-time bombing reenactments are the

major features of the show.

As has been the case for several year, Stu McCurdy’s Falcon Flight has performed the precision forma-

tion segment. Also, of particular interest at this year’s show, is an aerobatic routine flown by Andrew

Wright, who gave an excellent presentation at the April chapter meeting.

Falcon Flight

Pictured above are the 6 of the nine pilots who flew the 5 formations shown on the next page. They are left to right: Stu McCurdy, Jeff Jackson, Scott Card, Ron Walker, Pat Tuckey and Steve Richmond. Tanya Card, Scott’s wife, stands in the center.

Diamond

Delta Arrow

Eze Airplane

Andrew Wright’s performance Members attending the April meeting heard and saw an entertaining presentation by Andrew Wright

of Carbon Fiber Air Shows and, as he said, he would be per forming at Burnet and Temple.

After carefully checking all the control surfaces Andrew boards the1000 pound Giles air-craft. Below are two of the maneuvers he performed and about which he talked during his meeting presentation..

Rolls were performed at the rate of about 500 degrees per second.

After the climbing rolls a dive ensues....

Andrew experiences 9 G’s of weight as he recovers from the base of the power dive.

A knife edge maneuver and then an extended downwind course for landing.

During his presentation in April , Andrew described the cameras mounted on the wing tips of his Giles. Here’s a picture of one of them.

Bombs away! Air Boss Beth Jenkins heads up the CAF’s

Georgetown Wing. “Devil Dog “ the B-25 she

sponsors made simulated bombing run that reen-

acts WWII operations. Mark Frederick was the pi-

lot..

.

Food flights

Brenham (11R)—café on the field

McGregor (PWG)—lunch every Thursday, pan-

cakes every 1st Saturday

Sonora (SOA)—Tex-Mex and barbecue a short

walk away

Fredericksburg (T82)—50’s style diner on the field

Near Stephenville (SEP)—Tex-Mex and barbecue

Llano (AQO)—Coopers Barbecue, courtesy cars

available.

Hamilton (MNZ)—Deli in town, courtesy car

available.

Port Aransas Mustang Beach (RAS)—great sea-

food, trolley into town. Call (361) 749-4008 for

the combination to the air conditioned trolley wait-

ing room.

Hilltop Lakes resort. This is a private field, but

open the public and you can walk to the restaurant.

. The field is on the Houston Sectional , about 35

miles north of the College Station VOR on the 20-

degree radial.

La Grange. At the Fayette Regional Air Center

(3T5). Ch. 1347 will again serve barbecued sau-

sage and brisket with all the trimmings. Every 1st

Saturday.

.

Stan Jensen, Young Eagles co-coordinator submit-

ted this message:

This from the latest Young Eagle news

Waiver for Adult Passengers We know there are times you have the opportunity to take

a parent or adult along on a Young Eagles flight. How-

ever, in the past there was no insurance in place for that

passenger. Good news! EAA now has a Liability Waiver

that includes those adult passengers who accompany a

Young Eagles flight. Keep in mind that the adult passen-

ger should be in the back seat and the Young Eagle up

front. (Note: An adult that rides along is not an Eagle ).

Our June program (excerpted from the website)

Colonel William James "Greg" Gregory, U.S.A.F., retired, was born in Smith

County, Tennessee in 1920. In 1941, while in his Junior year at Middle Tennessee

State University, he entered the U.S. Army Air Corps in the aviation program, just

three months before the start of World War II. After completion of flight training at

Randolph Field, San Antonio, Gregory began combat in north Africa flying the P-

38 Lightning, the first of many Lockheed aircraft in his career. As a Command pi-

lot, Gregory is also a combat veteran of the Korean and Viet Nam wars. A military career that spanned over 30

years during the most significant chapters of the development of aviation, Col. Gregory piloted 55 different air-

planes while in the Air Force, including a number of aircraft flown with the US Navy. He is one of a few Air Force

pilots attaining Aircraft Carrier Qualification, off the USS Lexington.

Editor’s note: The above is only one paragraph describing what Col. Gregory has accomplish and the topics

he will cover. Go to eaa187.org. and read more about the colonels presentation. You will realize that it will

be a great program!

Gary Hamilton is organizing a Young Eagles event .

It’s scheduled May 24 at GTU . To beat the heat, flying

will take place between 9 a.m. and noon. So far, 18 kids

have been signed up. If you wish to fly or assist on the

ground contact Gary at gary769rv@verizon.net.

Chapter Officers and other leaders

President: Hruko Reese

Vice President : William Bennett

Secretary: Barry Gould

Treasurer: Rob Reese

Young Eagles Coordinators:

Stan Jensen

Gary Hamilton

Flight Advisor:

Deene Ogden

Tech Counselors:

Deene Ogden

Seth Hancock

Webmaster

Fidot Formichev

Website

Eaa187.org

Newsletter

Dan Badwey: Submissions due last Thursday of each

month. Send to jdbadwey@aol.com

Tool Chest

John Nunn

Meetings

General membership: Wells Branch Library, 2nd Thursday

each month. Gather at 6:45 p.m.

Board members: Pete Christensen, Director John Nunn Anthony Plattsmier Special committees By –Laws Ron Panton Brad Bellamy Fly-in Chairman Pete Christensen Marketing Chairman Jimmy Cox

Fuel prices

Recently there’s been a big difference in 100 low

lead prices at GTU : $4.75 per gallon at the pumps,

$6.00 per gallon at Aero Centex and from the truck..

Classifieds

Zodiac 601 XL

Wings and empennage are finished; the fuselage is about 95% complete. All FAA modifications are in-stalled or are ready for installation. There’s no canopy, but one can be easily obtained from Todds Canopies.. The canopy frame is in place but there’s some damage to the plexiglass. Asking price is $15,000 but offers will be considered. Health issues are the reason for selling. The project is located in Texarkana, Texas.

Also available is a 1965 Corvair Monza engine which has been disassembled and cleaned. It can be a part of the sale for a negotiated price.

Builder Rolly Hughes reports that the airframe has been well constructed and that the aircraft could be flyable in a few months. Photographs are available for prospec-tive buyers.

Contact Rolly at 903-306-2089 (home) or 432-349-3574 (cell). Email is rolloman66@yahoo.com.

RV-A wings

The wings were removed from a plane purchased for

the engine and instruments. They are completely fin-

ished, including the control surfaces. Capacitive fuel

sending units with low-fuel warning systems are in the

tanks. The fuel tank access plates have been removed

to check for SB on the pickup tubes, so the plates will

have to be reinstalled. The wings are in Dallas.

Seller, Deal L. Eiland, asks that interested buyers con-

tact him via deiland77@eranch.us. Asking price and

other details will be promptly relayed.

EMP Kit for RV-6

I've been offered an EMP kit for an RV6 for a song. No price

quoted, but they really want someone who'll use it to have it.

Email schybolt@austin.rr.com This email address is being

protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to

view it. , or call 512-422-3339.

Note the addition of special committees.